Despite the KPCC hurriedly parking its campaign copter, the dust refused to settle down on the issue of campaign funds with the Congress and the CPI(M) igniting a new debate on the hidden hand of lottery kings in the upcoming Assembly polls.
Kerala home minister and CPI(M) politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan claimed on Tuesday that lottery king and controversial Assam MP Mani Kumar Subba was sponsoring the Congress campaign.
“Money is flowing from Subba for the Congress,” he said. “He is funding their campaign.”
Mr Balakrishnan said Congress leaders had to fly in copters as they could not afford to walk on the streets. The home minister’s allegation follows KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala’s charge last week that lottery baron Santiago Martin the man that was sponsoring the CPI(M) campaign.
It may be noted that charges and counter charges on lottery kings had held Kerala politics hostage for more than two years.
While the CPI(M) had admitted to taking funds from Mr Martin for its party newspaper, the Congress spokesperson, Mr Abhishek Singhvi, appeared for private lottery barons in the Kerala High Court, shaming the state unit.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) politburo member S. Ramachandran Pillai said that using helicopters for campaign in a small state like Kerala was a “vulgar display of wealth”.
“What is the need for helicopters in a small state like Kerala?” asked Mr Pillai while talking to mediapersons at the state capital. “It is because the Congress has too much money that they do such things.”
Mr Pillai added that the CPI(M) was a “poor man’s party” and its leaders preferred to campaign on foot or in cars.